Yesterday beignets, today potée

Today is potée day. It's raining outside, which makes it perfect autumn weather for a boiled dinner. I have two pieces of pork called palette — I think that's the shoulder blade roast — one smoked and the other salt cured. I also have two Toulouse sausages, which are made with fresh pork. And I have all the vegetables you see in the photo below. I'm sure you can identify them — next to the white parsnips there's a big piece of peeled pumpkin, and above them are two red onions and a rutabaga. Plus turnips, leek tops, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, and garlic.

Yesterday was beignet day. Pumpkin fritters, deep-fried. There they are in the photo below.

And here's the batter with grated pumpkin in it. We had to modify the recipe on the fly by adding more flour, but it worked. The beignets were crispy on the outside and moelleux (soft) on the inside, and the shredded pumpkin was completely cooked. See the recipe at the end of this post.

These were deep-fried, as I mentioned. You could also make them as pancakes in a skillet.

Pumpkin fritters (beignets de potiron)

Oil for deep-frying
1¼ cups shredded pumpkin (5 oz. by weight)
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour (35 to 45 grams)
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese (20 to 25 grams)
1 teaspoon baking powder
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together. Adjust the amount of milk and flour as needed to make a soft, moist batter. I thought about adding some Moroccan spices to the batter, but decided not to — maybe next time. Use a tablespoon to drop portions of batter into hot oil. Use a slotted spoon to turn the fritters in the oil and to remove them. Drain them on paper toweling. Serve with Thai sweet chili sauce (we used a mixture of sriracha and ketchup) for dipping.